I like to do Sew Alongs. Why? There is just something about the camaraderie of a group of people working on the same project at roughly the same pace that encourages me to keep working. I especially like to do sew alongs for projects that seem complicated or like they might take more time than I will want to devote to them. Why? I’m less likely to put the project aside in the middle of it and go on to something else. 🙂
So, that brings me to my next Sew Along for my Facebook group: Sewing with Sandi. I originally found a picture on Pinterest of a quilt only identified as “Jamestown” and fell in love with it. I searched far and wide for the pattern, and eventually found out that it was Judy Martin’s “Shakespeare in the Park” with the modification of a different 6″ block in the center of each of the larger 12″ sawtooth star block. Nice!
I had posted a picture of this quilt on several pages looking for the pattern, and a lot of people had responded that they would be interested in making it, if I ever found the actual pattern. So, once I found out that the pattern was in Judy’s book called The Creative Pattern Book, I decided to invite my group to participate in a sew along.
My process for tackling a pattern that I don’t want to follow as written, which is the case with this one, is to dissect the pattern into blocks, and decide how I am going to go about making it. Nothing helps me do that more than drawing it out on graph paper and wrapping my mind around the actual construction and the units needed to create each block. I did that for this quilt, not only because I wanted to make it scrappy, and the pattern is a simple two color construction, but also because the pattern was written decades ago using methods that I don’t want to use. I want to use modern rulers, such as the Sew Easy ruler for my setting triangles, to make the process go faster. I also want to share those more modern methods with the people following along on the sew along, so some prep work on my part is essential to my success, and to theirs.
This quilt contains forty-eight 6 1/2″ sawtooth stars. That alone deserves sewing along with friends! If you are interested in joining us, just go to Facebook and ask to join the Sewing with Sandi page. You will need Judy’s book, which you will have to buy used from Amazon or get it from a friend. (You may even have it somewhere in your own library!). We will officially begin June 1. Come, sew along with me!
